Craig Lake State Park

There had been turtles on the log.....they saw us coming a mile away. Still a memorable scene !!

Francesca beginning the hike at Craig Lake.......

This park is Michigan's most remote state park, and we were afraid of bears and other large creatures so you can't hear us in this photo but we were making lots of noise !!!

Dominic standing near a VERY old tree stump, holding his precious Gatorade that he bought with his own money thank you very much !!

Water ??? Stick ??? Kids ??? A perfect recipe for a good time in Tootsie Land :-)

Todd

Todd's friends have all the nice toys!! See how happy he is riding in someone else's sports car ???

Todd and I on our way to dinner. See how happy we are WITHOUT the kids ?? :-)

A virgin daiquiri and pasta. See how happy he is ???

Fumee Lake Fun

Fumee Lake Natural Area never disappoints. Here is a plant that I have never seen before. It is spring so I'm sure that whatever it is, it will grow up into something more identifiable. I think I'll need to go back and check it out at a later time to see if it has changed. The pic of course doesn't do it justice, it was so fuschia. Really neat against the somewhat drab spring landscape.

They installed a new wrought iron gate at the entrance. This place is so pretty and unique and needed a better 'first impression'.

Blessed with sunshine for our hike, the kids are doing some shadow play here. You can see all 5 dogs and all 4 kids' shadows.

I LOVE watching them enjoy each other and nature, too. So very blessed.....

Our little, well kind of big, "pack". The little lake is only 1 mile around but there is still much to see and do. The larger lake is 5 miles around. We hiked that one only once. We do this little lake's hike all the time. And always enjoy it !!

GLAA snaps

I rarely get all 5 children together lately. So here they are. Vincent is 16, Gabriella is 14, Marnina is 12, Dominic is 9, and Francesca is 8. This is in the boys dorm hall.

Francesca and I eating in the Cafeteria at GLAA.

Vincent and I waiting in line at the Caf. Yes, he has passed me up.......vertically I mean :-)

More waiting for food.....Gabby is holding her packet fror Academy Days. She may attend GLAA next year as a Freshman. We'll see what the future holds first.

Vince is here with Julie, his best girl. They are in love *SIGH*.......How can this be ?????

Visiting Vincent

Vince outside his dorm room. He rooms alone, and he had already sent a lot of stuff home, so it looks bare in there !!

Here is his 3rd job, working as desk monitor. The other 2 jobs are Cafeteria and music scholarship (trombone).

"HIS" corner. He owns this area. And loves it ! He's got the process down to a science. Yeah, I know its not that hard...but to do this work and LOVE it takes a hard-working dedicated awesome guy. Great work man !!!

Oh the eyes for the girls, and the girls give the eyes right back. Sitting next to Vince here is his current girl Julie. Beautiful, sweet Julie. Nice to finally meet her, after all the talking he did about her on his last homeleave.

And the boy needs food. Snacks, drinks, general munchies. He's so happy when his Tupperware is full !!!

Pathfinders Bible Achievement at Andrews

Marny is standing by the sign for her club the Wilson Wolves. This is before the competition on Sabbath afternoon. Jeremiah is stuffed into their heads so much right now.....They all did so well !!!

Pioneer Memorial Church is so beautiful. It was full of nervous Pathfinders and staff. And of course nervous friends and family members !!

Cindy Berger is putting up our sign. There were only 3 teams from Michigan: Battle Creek, Berrien Springs, and Wilson. SO PROUD of our team. They took 2nd place !!!

The campus of Andrews is just stunning to behold. Whoever keeps up the grounds is doing an incredible job. The Magnolia trees were in full bloom and the blossoming crabs weren't far behind. It was freezing when we took this picture though. OK, 40 and windy, but it felt freezing !!

Tree Huggers

Dominic and Francesca enjoyed the trees on our walk today. This forest is about 1 mile away from our house and runs along a river. It was beautiful as usual this time.

Some of the Cedar trees that line the path are probably well over 200 years old. I LOVE them !!! Nothing, for me, is quite as romantic, mysterious, and refreshing as being in a forest filled with these aged wonders !!!

A tree hugger in the making :-)

A tree hugger in training :-)

Summer in April

Just walking around in the woods during the 70 degree afternoon.....Time very well spent.

I love to walk behind them and watch as they enjoy the forest. The river is nice and high, but not too high :-)

A rare picture of Gabriella...She likes this spot the best.

We frequent this river bank in the summer. Francesca couldn't resist testing the water, she went right in first thing !!! I guess she has a bit of my water baby quality about her :-)

Francesca's 8th Birthday

Francesca turned 8 on Monday. She had been counting down the days for months :-) She chose this cake from the bakery..."the one with the doggies on it" !!!

Gabriella turned 14 last week....Marny is still 12 (for a few more weeks anyway) and Dominic is 9 in this pic. Vince belongs in here too, but is away at school :-(

Among her presents were Legos, Playmobil, and clothing. Here she is holding up a Lego Horsie trailer set from Gramma. It was assembled promptly the very next morning !!

The children's favorite restaurant...Ferdinand's in downtown Escanaba, They were kind enough to honor both Gabby's and Francesca's birthdays at this meal. Hey, free dinner on your birthday is pretty awesome for this Mommy :-)

Shabbat Shalom Again

Friday evening is always anticipated at our house. It means everything stops, the candles are lit, the family is gathered, and we can enjoy each other and time with the LORD on His holy day. The "wine" is always new wine....Welch's purple grape juice, only the best! And for our treat....well.....it varies greatly from something home-made to something bakery-made to Pop-tarts when I was short on ideas once :-) Overall, it is a great way to start the Sabbath. Shabbat Shalom to all !!!

Bible Bowl 3 !!

Gabriella and Marnina in Mrs. Murray's van, waving good-bye as they head to Berrien Springs for the Union level of competition in the Pathfinder Bible Achievement program. They are quite excited, and looking forward to studying for the entire 7 hour trip !!!

My friend Mrs. Murray is quite talented with her frosting bag....Here is a cake she made for Gabriella's birthday that was on Sabbath, the day of the competition. She frosted a Bible text and stick people doing their thing at the competition...so clever and fun !! Happy Birthday Gabby :-)

The best thing about Gabriella's morning is the fact that Mrs. Murray handed her a box of Life cereal to snack on! This smile is very genuine :-) Gabby loves Life, in more ways than one....

The 50 Cent Tootsie Roll

"Mom, got any quarters??? The game in the corner lets you play till you win....." About 3 dollars later they all had 2 Tootsie Rolls each........Yippeeeee !!!!!

Hole-y Sox !!

Why haven't I seen these before they got to this point??? Can you tell that these are someone's favorite socks ??? I find this funny yet a little disturbing......This is how they came out of the washing machine, so at one point, they were walking around on someone's feet like this!!!! Needless to say they are now in the garbage, but I just HAD to take a picture of them :-)

Another Ski Day

Vince was able to join us for this ski day. I took this shot from the lift. Todd's taking his shot from the hill, and Vince is catching big air !! Pine Mountain Ski Resort in Iron Mountain, Michigan is tons of fun, and only 5 bucks !!

Pathfinder Bible Achievement

The Wilson Wolves Pathfinder Club focused on the Old Testament's book of Jeremiah this year. Our club made it to the state level and here they are competing in Battle Creek.

One of the most enjoyable activities on the LONG trip down to Battle Creek is 'signing' to the other cars on the freeway. This was my FAVORITE sign !!! HoNk-hOnK !!

Just arriving at their hotel....nervous, excited, and very knowledgeable. Our team succeeded in answering 90% or better of the Questions correctly. They now move on to the Union Level !! You guys and gals ROCK.

Piggy-Back Fun

I won't be able to do this much longer....but it sure is great fun to piggy-back my princess while I still can !!

It's the Kitchen's Turn !!

Last year, we did some remodeling on the living room. This year, we chose to start on the kitchen. It's definitely a long process....Not enough funding to go full speed ahead, but, a little at a time is better than no progress at all !! Francesca is painting the wall white with her mini roller. She loved to help !!

Todd is tearing out the old drywall....and Faithful Tootsie is nearby, lending her "calm submissive energy."